Vitality
by xxLittleChangeoftheHeart
Summary: Winry becomes a state Alchemist to find answers, but she could be playing into the hands of those who wish to do harm. (Switched Roles; does not follow FMA/FMAB plot)
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist in any way shape or form!

Also, for the sake of this fic, I am not planning on following the "rules" of alchemy very strictly.

I was contemplating the fact that while the women in FMA are strong characters, sometimes I get tired of Winry being so whiney/ emotional. Somehow, this is what popped into my head. Read on!

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><p>Today was the day. She had known it as soon as she stepped into the room. She had no fear that she would fail. She knew what she wanted and how to get it, so here she was: Central Command in Amestris, standing before the Fuhrer for her alchemy exam. Most people would have been in awe of Fuhrer King Bradley, standing before them, or at least nervous to see his reaction to their skills. She was nothing but determined, however, because Winry Rockbell knew of no one else that possessed her skill.<p>

"Winry Rockbell of Resembool," The Fuhrer's voice boomed across the room. "You may begin your alchemy exam."

Without hesitation, she set an object the ground in the dusty, empty room. They were only allowed to bring one object into the exam, but, unlike most hopefuls, she did not bring chalk to draw her transmutation circle. Instead, she brought a vibrant potted plant, which she sat in front of her. She pushed her long blonde ponytail back and stooped down to break off a piece of the plant, using the goo to draw a transmutation circle below it. She pushed the plant onto the center of the circle and knelt down, keeping her eyes locked on the Fuhrer's as she activated the circle. The plant began to noticeably wilt. The Fuhrer had not budged and did not look impressed, but Winry was not yet done. She activated the circle a second time, and the plant, which was yellow, brown, and fragile, almost at the end of its life, immediately burst back to life. She had watched the Fuhrer's eyes widen, as well as the guards and the other state alchemists in the room. She had done it.

Now, as she sat in the office, waiting to meet the superior officer to whom she was assigned, she thought back about how she picked up the plant and handed it to the Fuhrer. "It is truly alive." He had said thoughtfully as he examined it. "It isn't temporary. This is unusual alchemy." She grinned now, in her place on the couch of the office, remembering this. Unusual, yes, that she knew. The Fuhrer had wanted to keep an eye on the plant to make sure her alchemy was true, so he had taken it with himself. By the evening he was quite convinced, and she was one of them at last: a state alchemist.

The door to her left opened, and a dark-haired man entered the room. Winry stood, knowing from his uniform that he was her superior officer. She stood respectfully at attention, and he approached her and said, "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang, and you are the youngest state alchemist ever." He looked intrigued. He shook her hand as she said, "Pleased to meet you, Colonel. I'm Winry Rockbell."

"You are assigned to my team," Roy replied. "Everyone has gone home for the evening, but you will meet them tomorrow. We start bright and early."

Winry was surprised. She wasn't even sure what he meant; she was here to get information for herself, and she didn't like the idea of being at the Military's beck and call. Sighing, she thought, _well I guess I did sign myself up for this_. To the Colonel, she asked, "Tomorrow morning? What exactly will I be doing, sir?"

"You will be conducting important research, Miss Rockbell. The Fuhrer was very interested in your alchemy, apparently. What exactly did you show them during the exam?"

"I brought a plant back to life." Winry replied, believing that to be an honest answer. The Colonel's expression darkened. "You can't bring things back from the dead." He replied, so quietly but with so much dread and conviction that Winry shrunk back a bit. "That's impossible. But whatever you did do, the higher-ups are very interested in learning your secrets."

Winry resisted the urge to scowl. She did not want the military prying into her alchemic secrets, even if she wasn't even sure what they were herself. "I'm sure they are…sir." Was all that she said in response. "Am I free to go?"

Mustang moved to sit at his desk. "Yes. Lieutenant Hawkeye will bring you to your quarters. We have arranged for a place for you to stay here in Central for the night, in case you did not have other arrangements." Winry turned to see a young woman with her blonde hair flipped up behind her head standing by the door. Winry had not heard her enter the room. Hawkeye, she assumed, smiled slightly at her.

Winry nodded at her, smiling back, then turned back to Mustang. She resumed her frown. "What do you mean, for the night?"

"We are not permanently stationed in Central," Mustang replied. He shuffled papers, looking bored. "We will be returning to Eastern Command tomorrow. That is your new post."

_Wow_, _I don't get much say in anything_. Winry thought as she followed Hawkeye from the room. Her eyes narrowed. _I just hope that they give me a longer leash so I can conduct _my _research and not just _their _research…_

The next morning, Winry was awoken and dragged down to the train station bright and early by a very alert Lieutenant Hawkeye. Winry could not say that she felt the same; the sun was barely rising, and she hadn't had much time to sleep. She yawned as she walked into the station, where she saw Mustang waiting for them. Hawkeye saluted, and after a moment Winry realized she should probably do the same, but she was a bit too late. Mustang gave Hawkeye a nod and said, "Goodmorning, Lieutenant."

He turned to Winry. "Winry, meet the rest of the gang." She finally noticed the group of soldiers standing behind Roy; a small boy with glasses who was holding a dog, a bigger man with a beard, and a tall man with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. "Everyone else, meet Winry Rockbell-" He reached out and handed her a shiny pocketwatch, which she took with awe as he finished with, "-the Life Spark Alchemist."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Winry leaned back against the phone booth, cradling the receiver in her hand and listening to it ring. _1….2….3…pick up, Ed._ She thought. Just before she was about to give up, a grouchy voice answered the phone. "What do you want?"

"Aren't you supposed to answer the phone with, 'Elric Automail?'" Winry asked, smiling. "Al is gonna be mad."

"Hey! Winry!" Ed sounded a lot happier. "How are things in Central?"

_News must not have gotten back to Resembool yet._ She thought. To Ed, she said, "I'm not in Central anymore! I'm at Eastern Command."

"Eastern Command? What are you doing there-" He stopped abruptly. "Did you do it? Are you a state alchemist?" Winry could picture him holding the receiver, looking stressed out as usual.

"Or course I did it! All it took was a house plant. I've done more interesting transmutations than that before." She bragged a little.

"Yeah I'll say- what? Here, Al is practically ripping the phone out of my hands. Talk to you later!"

A moment later, Ed's brother Alphonse was on the line, begging to hear all about the alchemy exam and everything else. Winry was happy to have a chance to talk to them. She had been at Eastern Command for a couple of days, and so far they had kept her very, very busy.

Edward and Alphonse Elric were her childhood friends. They lived with their mother on the hill next to the house that Winry grew up in with her grandma. Ed was the short, as well as short-tempered, older brother, and Alphonse was the smart and sweet younger brother. They ran an automail shop from their house, with Al designing the machinery and Ed putting it together. Their mother, Trisha, doted over their work. They were a nice family.

All too soon, Winry had to hang up with the Elrics and go back to work.

For the first few weeks, nothing extraordinary happened. Winry kept busy getting to know the other members of Mustang's team- Hawkeye, Breda, Havoc, and Fuery. She was lonely there at first, but as she got to be part of the team, she didn't feel so cut off anymore.

One morning in mid-summer, Winry went cheerfully into Mustang's office, expecting to begin her day debriefing with the team, then doing solo research through the files available in the East to state alchemists. These had been her usual day-to-day activities, except for the occasional physical and combat training they went through as a team. For all her research so far, she had not found any information of help to her. So this morning, determined as ever, she entered Mustang's office to find him not seated at his desk, but instead standing and looking out the window, looking serious. The rest of the crew were working on paperwork, looking somber.

"Colonel?" Winry asked. She didn't particularly care for his loud mouth and obvious self-centered personality, but she had not seen him this serious very often. "What's going on?"

Mustang turned to her. "Winry," He said. "I got an odd summons this morning."

"For who?" She asked, once again looking at the others. Mostly they were avoiding her gaze, except for Hawkeye's stare and… Fuery's sad puppy face.

Sure enough, it was Fuery who answered, "They sent for you. They want to see you in Central."

"Is this permanent? Are they taking me off your team?" Winry suddenly felt ouraged. She may not care for the Colonel, but Riza Hawkeye was a strong soldier and an amazing person, and she had become close friends with Fuery and Breda, as well as with Havoc, despite his incessant flirting. "I've been doing exactly what I was ordered! I'm here to participate in research!"

Mustang frowned deeper. "That was what they said. They said they wish for you to participate in some research project there."

"I don't see why I can't just do it here." Winry said stubbornly, but knew she had no choice. "When do I leave?"

_Something doesn't feel right._ She thought as the train pulled out of the East Station a couple of hours later. She waved to Fuery and Hawkeye, who saw her off. _Why the sudden summons? What is so urgent?_

"Is this seat taken?" A voice broke her out of her reverie. A tall, handsome man with dark hair, dark facial hair, and square-rimmed glasses sat down across from her. He was wearing a military uniform. He held out his hand. "Name's Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. Are you the Life Spark Alchemist?"

"Y-yes," Winry blushed, shaking his hand. "I'm Winry Rockbell."

"Aren't you part of Roy's crew? Why are you heading to Central?"

_Roy? _She thought. _Wow, he and the Colonel must be close_. "I got a summons. Something about research."

Hughes looked confused. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, that's different. You do BioAlchemy, right? I didn't know they were researching that and I'm stationed in Central."

Winry looked down at her hands, a bad feeling in her stomach. She told herself that she was being silly but she just couldn't shake it.

"Anyway," Hughes broke through her thoughts again as he thrust a picture at her. "Don't you want to see my beautiful daughter? And my gorgeous wife?"

For the rest of the trip, Winry was bombarded by pictures and Hughes' doting over his family. By the time they stepped off the train, she had been forced to keep a picture of Hughes' daughter Elicia ("You want one, right? Isn't she just adorable? Here, you can keep it! I've got plenty more!") and somehow found herself promising to come pay a visit to the Hughes family as soon as she was "freed from the annoying Central research team." He wrote his address on the back of Elicia's picture.

Hughes had cheered her up, and she walked towards Central Command with a smile. She was humming a tune as she walked up to the building, but her happiness dissolved as she was lead inside the command center and downstairs into a room full of very serious and very unnerving scientists. She looked for a familiar or even a friendly face, but found none. As the door closed behind her, she was wondering what she had gotten herself into now.

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><p>Please review for the sake of my motivation to write :3<p> 


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